Winter Olympic Security Includes Drones that Catch Drones

Security personnel will be on the lookout for suspicious drones during the Winter Olympics in South Korea.

By Sydny Shepard

Feb 05, 2018

Organizers of the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea have a lot of security measures to deal with on the ground level of the event, but they are also looking up to secure the space above the Games as well.

As part of the safety and security strategy, drone-catching drones will be on hand to cast nets over any suspicious looking unmanned aerial vehicles that approach the Olympic ground in Pyeongchang. Security teams have also been practicing how to shoot down these potentially dangerous drone.

Security personnel are worried that scenarios such as a drone carrying a bomb towards a bus full of athletes could have the potential to play out during the Winter Games. They want to be prepared for any and all emergency situations.

Even before security teams began work on the Olympics, South Korea has been beefing up its drone defense. North Korea has been known to send these devices over the board to carry out missions. In December, South Korea announced a combat unit designed around weaponized drones after a state-run think tank said the North is presumed to have about 1,000 drones ready for airborne terror attacks.